Super 1 National Kart Championships
Encyclopedia
The "Super 1 National Kart Championships" or "Super One" is a karting championship based in the United Kingdom. It has been in operation since 1983 and is regarded as the premier karting championship in the UK.
where only 4 classes were run as part of the championship. At the time, the championship was not officially recognised as being the "British Championship" as the RAC
national titles were decided over a one-weekend event. This continued up till 1990 when Super 1 secured the rights to decide the British champion over the course of the series.
Over the years, the Super 1 series has produced champions that have gone on to race in Formula 1 such as David Coulthard
, Jenson Button
, Anthony Davidson
, Ralph Firman
and Lewis Hamilton
. Other drivers who have won a Super 1 championship and who have gone on to professional motor racing include Gary Paffett
, Dan Wheldon
, Ben Hanley
, Oliver Jarvis
and Allan McNish
.
The MSA series consists of the following classes:
The Rotax series consists of the following classes:
Out of the above, only one class is recognised by the Motorsports Association as being a British Championships. The rest are recognised by the Association of British Kart Clubs as National Championships (Excluding Formula KGP.) Each class also has seeded rankings for the top 15 finishers in the championship standings for the use of their finishing number until the end of the following years series. Super Cadet and Formula KGP are new classes for the Super One 2011 Championships.
Just before the 2011 season started it was decided to change the class setup. Previously there were 3 separate series, the third being TKM. With the cancellation of the two 4 stroke TKM championships the previous year and now this year it was deemed to un-cost effective to run the series separately anymore. Instead the series has been merged. The remaining TKM classes move into the MSA series while Honda Cadets move into the Rotax series.
Following this just weeks before the first round of the MSA series the KF2 championship was cancelled due to lack of drivers entered, this means along with the class, the MSA British kart championship went and this is currently trying to be resolved by way of getting another class to host the championship or creating a completely separate race to decide it.
The 2011 Championships are as follows:-
MSA:
19/20 March - PF International
7/8 May - Shenington
11/12 June - Glan y Gors
2/3 July - Larkhall
20/21 August - Clay Pigeon
10/11 September - Rowrah
8/9 October - Whilton Mill
Rotax:
12/13 March - Whilton Mill
9/10 April - Shenington
4/5 June - Rowrah
25/26 June - Larkhall
23/24 July - Buckmore Park
17/18 September - PF International
15/16 October - Three Sisters
There are normally 3 or 4 clerks of the courses who attend the Super 1 meetings, the most regular ones being Phil Cox, Rod Taylor and Alan Bryant. The series' chief scrutineer is Paul Klaassen and fuel is supplied by ATOL.
History
The first Super 1 meeting was held in 1983 at SnettertonSnetterton
Snetterton is a village and civil parish in the English county of Norfolk. The village is located some north-east of the town of Thetford and south-west of the city of Norwich....
where only 4 classes were run as part of the championship. At the time, the championship was not officially recognised as being the "British Championship" as the RAC
RAC
-Companies:* Rent-A-Center, an American public furniture and electronics rent to own company* Royal Automobile Club, a private club in Pall Mall, London* RAC plc, a breakdown company in the United Kingdom...
national titles were decided over a one-weekend event. This continued up till 1990 when Super 1 secured the rights to decide the British champion over the course of the series.
Over the years, the Super 1 series has produced champions that have gone on to race in Formula 1 such as David Coulthard
David Coulthard
David Marshall Coulthard, MBE, , sometimes known as DC, is a British former Formula One racing driver from Scotland.Coulthard, who was born in Dumfries and raised nearby in Twynholm, made his Formula One debut in 1994 and won 13 Grands Prix in a career spanning 15 seasons...
, Jenson Button
Jenson Button
Jenson Alexander Lyons Button MBE is a British Formula One driver currently signed to McLaren. He was the 2009 World Drivers' Champion.Button began karting at the age of eight and achieved early success, before progressing to car racing in the British Formula Ford Championship and the British...
, Anthony Davidson
Anthony Davidson
Anthony Denis Davidson is a British former Formula One racing driver from England, born in Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire. He has raced for Minardi, Super Aguri and been a test and/or reserve driver for the British American Racing, Honda and Brawn GP teams...
, Ralph Firman
Ralph Firman
Ralph David Firman Jr. is an English-born racing driver who races under Irish citizenship and an Irish-issued racing licence. Earlier in his career he raced under a British licence...
and Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Hamilton
Lewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...
. Other drivers who have won a Super 1 championship and who have gone on to professional motor racing include Gary Paffett
Gary Paffett
Gary Paffett is a British racing driver in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. He is also a test driver for the McLaren Formula One team. Paffett progressed through the ranks of karting and junior formulae in the United Kingdom, winning the McLaren Autosport BRDC Award in 1999...
, Dan Wheldon
Dan Wheldon
Daniel Clive "Dan" Wheldon was a British racing driver from England. He was the 2005 Indy Racing League IndyCar Series champion, and winner of the Indianapolis 500 in both 2005 and 2011...
, Ben Hanley
Ben Hanley
Ben Hanley is a British racing driver who competed in the first part of the 2008 GP2 Series season. He is also a member of the Renault F1 team's young driver program.- Career :...
, Oliver Jarvis
Oliver Jarvis
Oliver Jarvis is a racing driver.- Racing career :Oliver was first introduced to motorsport from an early age when his father Carl was competing in Formula Ford 1600...
and Allan McNish
Allan McNish
Allan McNish is a Scottish racing driver. He is a two-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, most recently in 2008, and two-time American Le Mans Series champion.- Early life :...
.
Classes
Originally, there were only 4 classes in the Super 1 series. Currently there are 11 different classes that run within the series. For 2011 these classes are split into two separate series, (MSA and Rotax).The MSA series consists of the following classes:
- KF3KF3KF3 is a kart racing class for top drivers aged 12 to 15 .This class used to be called Junior Intercontinental A and has changed since January 2007 when CIK-FIA decided to replace the 100 cc air-cooled two-stroke engines with 125 cc Touch-and-Go water-cooled two-stroke...
(MSA British Junior Kart Championship) - Comer Cadet
- Super Cadet
- Formula KGP
- Junior TKMTKM (Karting)is a low-cost British based karting category raced at club and national championships around the UK. It uses 100cc/115cc 2-stroke TKM engines and drivers are restricted to the use of single type of tyre...
- TKMTKM (Karting)is a low-cost British based karting category raced at club and national championships around the UK. It uses 100cc/115cc 2-stroke TKM engines and drivers are restricted to the use of single type of tyre...
Extreme
The Rotax series consists of the following classes:
- Minimax
- Junior RotaxRotaxBRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co KG , commonly known simply as Rotax, is an Austrian engine manufacturer. It develops and produces four-stroke and advanced two-stroke engines for Bombardier Recreational Products products as well as for motorcycles, karts,...
Max - Senior RotaxRotaxBRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co KG , commonly known simply as Rotax, is an Austrian engine manufacturer. It develops and produces four-stroke and advanced two-stroke engines for Bombardier Recreational Products products as well as for motorcycles, karts,...
Max - RotaxRotaxBRP-Powertrain GmbH & Co KG , commonly known simply as Rotax, is an Austrian engine manufacturer. It develops and produces four-stroke and advanced two-stroke engines for Bombardier Recreational Products products as well as for motorcycles, karts,...
Max 177 - HondaHondais a Japanese public multinational corporation primarily known as a manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles.Honda has been the world's largest motorcycle manufacturer since 1959, as well as the world's largest manufacturer of internal combustion engines measured by volume, producing more than...
Cadet
Out of the above, only one class is recognised by the Motorsports Association as being a British Championships. The rest are recognised by the Association of British Kart Clubs as National Championships (Excluding Formula KGP.) Each class also has seeded rankings for the top 15 finishers in the championship standings for the use of their finishing number until the end of the following years series. Super Cadet and Formula KGP are new classes for the Super One 2011 Championships.
Just before the 2011 season started it was decided to change the class setup. Previously there were 3 separate series, the third being TKM. With the cancellation of the two 4 stroke TKM championships the previous year and now this year it was deemed to un-cost effective to run the series separately anymore. Instead the series has been merged. The remaining TKM classes move into the MSA series while Honda Cadets move into the Rotax series.
Following this just weeks before the first round of the MSA series the KF2 championship was cancelled due to lack of drivers entered, this means along with the class, the MSA British kart championship went and this is currently trying to be resolved by way of getting another class to host the championship or creating a completely separate race to decide it.
Races
Currently, there are 14 Super 1 race meetings each year split into 2 separate championship series: the MSA series (for KF3, W60 Cadet, Super Cadet, KGP, Junior TKM and TKM Extreme), and the Rotax series (for all Rotax classes as well as Honda Cadet). Each series has 7 rounds at different locations throughout the UK (usually at circuits which are regarded as "premier" venues).The 2011 Championships are as follows:-
MSA:
19/20 March - PF International
7/8 May - Shenington
11/12 June - Glan y Gors
2/3 July - Larkhall
20/21 August - Clay Pigeon
10/11 September - Rowrah
8/9 October - Whilton Mill
Rotax:
12/13 March - Whilton Mill
9/10 April - Shenington
4/5 June - Rowrah
25/26 June - Larkhall
23/24 July - Buckmore Park
17/18 September - PF International
15/16 October - Three Sisters
Officials
The current series co-ordinator for Super 1 is Neil Hann. Hann is responsible for promoting the championship as well as organising the calendar/venues for each season. The competition secretary is Sonja Game who is responsible for championship points and processing entries into the championship.There are normally 3 or 4 clerks of the courses who attend the Super 1 meetings, the most regular ones being Phil Cox, Rod Taylor and Alan Bryant. The series' chief scrutineer is Paul Klaassen and fuel is supplied by ATOL.